Aachen , in French, Aix-la-Chapelle, the name by which the city is generally known in Latin Aquæ Grani, later Aquisgranum, is the capital of a presid

 Aaron

 Abaddon

 Abandonment

 Pedro Abarca

 Abarim

 Abba

 Antoine d'Abbadie

 Abban

 Abbé

 Jean Baptiste Abbeloos

 Abbess

 Abbey

 Abbo Cernuus

 St. Abbon

 Abbot

 Henry Abbot

 Methods of Abbreviation

 Ecclesiastical Abbreviations

 Abbreviators

 Abdera

 Abdias

 Abdias of Babylon

 Abdication

 Sts. Abdon and Sennen

 Abduction

 Abecedaria

 Abecedarians

 Abel (1)

 Abel (2)

 Peter Abelard

 Louis Abelly

 Abenakis

 Abraham-ben-Méir Aben-Ezra

 Inscription of Abercius

 John Abercromby

 Robert Abercromby

 Diocese of Aberdeen

 University of Aberdeen

 Moritz von Aberle

 Legend of Abgar

 Abiathar

 Abila

 Abbey of Abingdon

 Thomas Abington

 Missions among the Abipones

 Abisai

 Abjuration

 Abo

 Abner

 Abomination of Desolation

 Abortion

 Physical Effects of Abortion

 Charles François d'Abra de Raconis

 Don Isaac Abrabanel

 Abraham

 Abraham (in Liturgy)

 Bosom of Abraham

 Abraham a Sancta Clara

 Abraham Ecchelensis

 Abrahamites

 Nicholas Abram

 Abrasax

 Absalom

 Absalon of Lund

 Absinthe

 Absolute

 Absolution

 Abstemii

 Abstinence

 Physical Effects of Abstinence

 Abstraction

 Abthain

 Theodore Abucara

 Abundius

 Abydus

 Abyss

 Abyssinia

 Acacia

 Acacians

 Acacius, Bishop of Beroea

 Acacius, Bishop of Caesarea

 Acacius, Patriarch of Constantinople

 St. Acacius

 Roman Academies

 French Academy

 Acadia

 Acanthus (see)

 Acanthus (plant)

 Acathistus

 St. Acca

 Accaron

 Accentus Ecclesiasticus

 Acceptance

 Acceptants

 Accession

 Diocese of Arras

 Councils of Arras

 Pablo José Arriaga

 Juan Arricivita

 Nicola Arrighetti

 Nicolò Arrighetti

 Arsacidæ

 Arsenius Autorianos

 St. Arsenius

 Arsinoe

 Accessus

 Artemon

 James Arthur

 Thomas Arthur

 Articles of Faith

 Organic Articles

 Artoklasia

 Bachelor of Arts

 Faculty of Arts

 Master of Arts

 Seven Liberal Arts

 Acciajuoli

 Artvin

 Thomas Arundel

 Thomas Arundell

 St. Asaph

 Ascalon

 Ascelin

 Ascendente Domino

 Ascension

 Feast of the Ascension

 Asceticism

 Accident

 Joseph, Ritter von Aschbach

 Diocese of Ascoli-Piceno

 Diocese of Ascoli, Satriano, and Cirignola

 Aseity

 Aseneth

 Aser

 Asgaard

 Ash Wednesday

 George Ashby

 Thomas Ashby

 Acclamation

 Ashes

 Ven. Ralph Ashley

 John Ashton

 Ven. Roger Ashton

 Asia

 Asia Minor

 Asiongaber

 Robert Aske

 Asmodeus

 Aspendus

 Acclamation (in Papal Elections)

 Asperges

 Martin Aspilcueta

 The Ass (in Caricature of Christian Beliefs and Practices)

 Prefecture Apostolic of Assam

 Assemani

 Assemblies of the French Clergy

 John Asser

 Feast of Asses

 Assessor of the Holy Office

 Assessors

 Biblical Accommodation

 St. Assicus

 Assideans

 Physiological Assimilation

 Psychological Assimilation

 Diocese of Assisi

 Assistant at the Pontifical Throne

 Assize of Clarendon

 Volume 1

 Volume 3

 Assizes of Jerusalem

 Accomplice

 Ignaz Assmayer

 Right of Voluntary Association

 Association of Ideas

 Association of Priestly Perseverance

 Pious Associations

 Assuerus

 Little Sisters of the Assumption

 Sisters of the Assumption

 Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Assur (1)

 Francesco Accursius

 Assur (2)

 Assyria

 Asterisk

 Asterius

 Diocese of Asti

 Aston

 Diocese of Astorga

 Astrology

 Astronomy

 Astronomy in the Bible

 Paul-Thérèse-David d'Astros

 Acephali

 Jean Astruc

 Atahuallpa

 Juan Santos Atahualpa

 Atavism

 Vicariate Apostolic of Athabasca

 Athanasian Creed

 St. Athanasius

 Atheism

 Abbey of Athelney

 Athenagoras

 Archdiocese of Acerenza

 Athenry

 Christian Athens

 Modern Diocese of Athens

 Joseph Athias

 Mount Athos

 Juan de Atienza

 James Atkinson

 Nicholas Atkinson

 Paul Atkinson of St. Francis

 Sarah Atkinson

 Achab

 Ven. Thomas Atkinson

 Atom

 Atomism

 Day of Atonement

 Doctrine of the Atonement

 Atrib

 Atrium

 Attainder

 St. Attala

 Attalia

 Achaia

 Michael Attaliates

 Atticus

 Councils of Attigny

 Attila

 Jean Denis Attiret

 Atto

 Atto of Pistoia

 Atto of Vercelli

 St. Attracta

 Divine Attributes

 Achaicus

 Attrition

 Attuda

 Jean-Michel-d'Astorg Aubarède

 Jean-Antoine d'Aubermont

 Joseph Aubery

 François Hédelin, Abbé d'Aubignac

 Pierre d'Aubusson

 Archdiocese of Auch

 Diocese of Auckland

 Auctorem Fidei

 Achaz

 Pontifical Audiences

 Giovanni Battista Audiffredi

 J. M. Vincent Audin

 Guglielmo Audisio

 Auditor

 Audran

 Leopold Auenbrugger

 Jobst Bernhard von Aufsees

 Edmond Auger

 Augilæ

 Lucas d'Achéry

 Diocese of Augsburg

 Synods of Augsburg

 Augusta

 Augustin von Alfeld

 Rule of Saint Augustine

 St. Augustine of Canterbury

 St. Augustine of Hippo

 Teaching of St. Augustine of Hippo

 Works of St. Augustine of Hippo

 Augustinians of the Assumption

 Antonius Augustinus

 Augustinus-Verein

 Achiacharus

 Augustopolis

 Augustus

 Aumbry

 St. Aunarius

 Aurea

 Aurelian

 Aureliopolis

 Aurelius

 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

 Petrus Aureoli

 Achimaas

 Auriesville

 Giovanni Aurispa

 Aurora Lucis Rutilat

 Ausculta Fili

 Decimus Magnus Ausonius

 John Austin

 Australia

 St. Austrebertha

 St. Austremonius

 Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

 Achimelech

 Authentic

 Authenticity of the Bible

 Civil Authority

 Authorized Version

 Autocephali

 Autos Sacramentales

 Ambrose Autpert

 Joseph Autran

 Diocese of Autun

 Auxentius

 Achitopel

 Councils of Auxerre

 Auxiliary Bishop

 Auxilius of Naples

 Ava

 Nicola Avancini

 Avarice

 Avatār

 Pierre du Bois, Baron d'Avaugour

 Ave Maris Stella

 Ave Regina

 Diocese of Achonry

 Diocese of Avellino

 Avempace

 Fernando Avendano

 Averroes

 Diocese of Aversa

 Avesta

 Theological Aspects of Avesta

 Avicebron

 Avicenna

 Avignon

 Achor Valley

 University of Avignon

 Diocese of Avila

 Francisco de Avila

 Sancho de Avila

 St. Avitus

 Order of Aviz

 Council of Avranches

 Philippe Avril

 Axum

 Diocese of Ayacucho

 Achrida

 Fray Francisco de Ayeta

 Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón

 James Ambrose Dominic Aylward

 Aymará

 Aymeric of Piacenza

 Féliz de Azara

 Aristaces Azaria

 Brother Azarias

 Luiz de Azevedo

 Juan Azor

 Johann Heinrich Achterfeldt

 Azores

 Azotus

 Aztecs

 Azymes

 Azymites

 Theodore William Achtermann

 Valens Acidalius

 Diocese of Aci-Reale

 Leopold Ackermann

 Acmonia

 Acoemetae

 Acolouthia

 Acolyte

 Joaquín Acosta

 José de Acosta

 Diocese of Acquapendente

 Acquaviva

 Claudius Acquaviva

 Diocese of Acqui

 Acre

 Acrostic

 Acta Pilati

 Acta Sanctæ Sedis

 Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ

 Acta Triadis Thaumaturgæ

 Act of Settlement (Irish)

 Charles Januarius Acton

 John Acton

 John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron Acton

 John Francis Edward Acton

 Canonical Acts

 Human Acts

 Indifferent Acts

 Acts of the Apostles

 Acts of Roman Congregations

 Actus et Potentia

 Actus primus

 Actus Purus

 Acuas

 St. Adalard

 Adalbert

 Adalbert I

 St. Adalbert (of Bohemia)

 St. Adalbert (of Germany)

 Ad Apostolicae Dignitatis Apicem

 Ad Limina Apostolorum

 Ad Sanctam Beati Petri Sedem

 Ad Universalis Ecclesiae

 Adam

 Adam in Early Christian Liturgy and Literature

 Books of Adam

 Adam of Bremen

 Adam of Fulda

 Adam of Murimuth

 Adam of Perseigne

 Adam of St. Victor

 Adam of Usk

 John Adam

 Nicholas Adam

 Adam Scotus

 Andrea Adami da Bolsena

 Adamites

 St. Adamnan

 James Adams

 Ven. John Adams

 Diocese of Adana

 Adar

 Ferdinando d'Adda

 Addas

 Liturgy of Addeus and Maris

 Ecclesiastical Addresses

 Archdiocese of Adelaide

 St. Adelaide, Abbess

 St. Adelaide (Adelheid)

 John Placid Adelham

 Adelmann

 Adelophagi

 Vicariate Apostolic of Aden

 Adeodatus

 Pope St. Adeodatus

 Adeste Fideles

 Adjuration

 Administrator

 Administrator (of Ecclesiastical Property)

 Canonical Admonitions

 Admont

 St. Ado of Vienne

 Adonai

 Adonias

 Adoption

 Canonical Adoption

 Supernatural Adoption

 Adoptionism

 Adoration

 Perpetual Adoration

 Francis Adorno

 Adoro Te Devote

 Diocese of Adria

 Pope Adrian I

 Pope Adrian II

 Pope St. Adrian III

 Pope Adrian IV

 Pope Adrian V

 Pope Adrian VI

 St. Adrian of Canterbury

 Adrian of Castello

 Adrianople

 Christian Kruik van Adrichem

 Adso

 Diego Francisco Aduarte

 Adullam

 Adulteration of Food

 Adultery

 Advent

 Adventists

 Book of Advertisements

 Advocates of Roman Congregations

 Advocates of St. Peter

 Advocatus Diaboli

 Advocatus Ecclesiæ

 Advowson

 Adytum

 St. Aedan of Ferns

 Aedh of Kildare

 Bl. Aegidius of Assisi

 Ægidius of Viterbo

 Aelfric, Abbot of Eynsham

 Ælnoth

 St. Ælred

 Æneas of Gaza

 St. Aengus (the Culdee)

 Ænon

 Æons

 Aër

 Aërius of Pontus

 Æsthetics

 Æterni Patris (Pius IX)

 Æterni Patris (Leo XIII)

 Aëtius

 Affinity (in the Bible)

 Affinity (in Canon Law)

 Affirmation

 Afflighem

 Denis Auguste Affre

 St. Afra

 Africa

 Early African Church

 African Liturgy

 African Synods

 Agabus

 Agape

 Agapetae

 Agapetus

 Pope St. Agapetus I

 Pope Agapetus II

 William Seth Agar

 St. Agatha

 Agathangelus

 Agathias

 Pope St. Agatho

 Agaunum

 Agostini Agazzari

 Council of Agde

 Canonical Age

 Age of Reason

 Diocese of Agen

 Agents of Roman Congregations

 Aggeus (Haggai)

 Unjust Aggressor

 Raymond d'Agiles

 St. Agilulfus

 Agios O Theos

 Giuseppe Agnelli

 Fra Guglielmo Agnelli

 Bl. Agnellus of Pisa

 Andreas Agnellus of Ravenna

 St. Agnes of Assisi

 Bl. Agnes of Bohemia

 St. Agnes of Montepulciano

 St. Agnes of Rome

 Maria Gaetana Agnesi

 Agnetz

 Agnoetae

 Agnosticism

 Agnus Dei

 Agnus Dei (in Liturgy)

 Agonistici

 Agony of Christ

 Paolo Agostini

 Bl. Agostino Novello

 Charles Constance César Joseph Matthieu d'Agoult

 Archdiocese of Agra

 Agram

 Agrapha

 Agrarianism

 Maria de Agreda

 Agria

 St. Agricius

 Alexander Agricola

 George Agricola

 Rudolph Agricola

 Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa of Nettesheim

 Agrippinus

 Diocese of Aguas Calientes

 Joseph Saenz de Aguirre

 Ahicam

 Ahriman and Ormuzd

 Johann Caspar Aiblinger

 Gregor Aichinger

 St. Aidan of Lindisfarne

 Duchess of Aiguillon

 Mary Aikenhead

 St. Ailbe

 St. Aileran

 Family of d'Ailleboust

 Pierre d'Ailly

 Mateo Aimerich

 Diocese of Aire

 Giacomo Maria Airoli

 Aisle

 Aistulph

 Archdiocese of Aix

 Councils of Aix-en-Provence

 Diocese of Ajaccio

 Akhmin

 Michael and Nicetas Akominatos

 Alabama

 Alabanda

 Alabaster

 Diocese of Alagoas

 Pietro Alagona

 Alain de l'Isle

 Alalis

 Lucas Alaman

 Niccolò Alamanni

 Alan of Tewkesbury

 Alan of Walsingham

 Alanus de Rupe

 Alaska

 Diocese of Alatri

 Alb

 Diocese of Alba Pompeia

 St. Alban

 Albanenses

 Albania

 Albani

 Albano

 Diocese of Albany

 Diocese of Albenga

 Niccolo Albergati

 Alberic of Monte Cassino

 Alberic of Ostia

 Albero de Montreuil

 Giulio Alberoni

 Albert

 Albert II

 Bl. Albert

 St. Albert

 Bl. Albert Berdini of Sarteano

 Albert of Aachen

 Albert of Brandenburg

 Albert of Castile

 Albert of Stade

 Leandro Alberti

 Leone Battista Alberti

 Nicolò Albertini

 John Baptist Albertrandi

 Bl. Albertus Magnus

 Archdiocese of Albi

 Council of Albi

 Juan de Albi

 Sigismund Albicus

 Albigenses

 Albinus

 Johann G. Albrechtsberger

 Albright Brethren

 Afonzo de Albuquerque

 University of Alcalá

 Military Order of Alcántara

 Antonio de Alcedo

 Alchemy

 St. Alcmund

 Andrea Alciati

 Alcimus

 John Alcock

 Alcoholism

 Alcuin

 St. Aldegundis

 Aldersbach

 Aldfrith

 St. Aldhelm

 St. Aldric

 Ulissi Aldrovandi

 Leonard Alea

 Phillipe Alegambe

 Francisco Xavier Alegre

 Joseph Sadoc Alemany

 Giulio Alenio

 Archdiocese of Aleppo

 Diocese of Ales and Terralba

 Diocese of Alessandria della Paglia

 Galeazzo Alessi

 Diocese of Alessio

 Alexander

 Alexander (Early Bishops)

 Pope St. Alexander I

 Pope Alexander II

 Pope Alexander III

 Pope Alexander IV

 Pope Alexander V

 Pope Alexander VI

 Pope Alexander VII

 Pope Alexander VIII

 St. Alexander

 St. Alexander (II)

 St. Alexander (of Alexandria)

 Bl. Alexander Briant

 Alexander Natalis

 Alexander of Abonoteichos

 Alexander of Hales

 Alexander of Lycopolis

 Bl. Alexander Sauli

 Dom Jacques Alexandre

 Alexandria

 Councils of Alexandria

 Church of Alexandria

 Diocese of Alexandria

 Alexandrian Library

 Alexandrine Liturgy

 Alexian Nuns

 Alexians

 St. Alexis Falconieri

 St. Alexius

 Count Vittorio Alfieri

 Pietro Alfieri

 Alfonso de Zamora

 Alfonso of Burgos

 Michael Alford

 Alfred the Great

 St. Alfrida

 St. Alfwold

 Alger of Liége

 Diocese of Alghero

 Archdiocese of Algiers

 Algonquins

 Diocese of Alife

 Alimentation

 Alimony

 Aliturgical Days

 All Hallows College

 All Saints

 All Souls' Day

 Allah

 Diocese of Allahabad

 Paul Allard

 Leo Allatius

 Joseph Allegranza

 Antonio Allegri

 Gregorio Allegri

 Alleluia

 Jean Allemand

 Edward Patrick Allen

 Frances Allen

 George Allen

 John Allen (I)

 John Allen (II)

 William Allen

 August Allerstein

 Thomas William Allies

 Joseph Franz Allioli

 William Allison

 Allocution

 Allori

 William Allot

 Claude Allouez

 Alma

 Alma Redemptoris Mater

 Diego de Almagro

 John Almeida

 Diocese of Almeria

 Camillo Almici

 Ven. John Almond

 John Almond

 Oliver Almond

 Alms and Almsgiving

 St. Alnoth

 Alogi

 St. Aloysius Gonzaga

 A and Ω

 Alpha and Omega (in Jewish Theology)

 Christian Use of the Alphabet

 St. Alphonsus Liguori

 St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

 Prospero Alpini

 Alsace-Lorraine

 Diego Francisco Altamirano

 Altamura and Acquaviva

 Altar (in Liturgy)

 Altar (in the Greek Church)

 Altar (in Scripture)

 History of the Christian Altar

 Bl. Altmann

 St. Alto

 Diocese of Alton

 Diocese of Altoona

 Altruism

 Alumnus

 Niccolò Alunno

 Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva

 Pedro d'Alva y Astorga

 Alonzo de Alvarado

 Fray Francisco de Alvarado

 Pedro de Alvarado

 Balthazar Alvarez

 Diego Alvarez

 Manoel Alvarez

 Alvarez de Paz

 St. Alypius

 José Antonio Alzate

 Johann Baptist Alzog

 Ama

 Giovanni Antonio Amadeo

 Dioceses of Amadia and Akra

 Amalarius of Metz

 St. Amalberga (1)

 St. Amalberga (2)

 Amalec

 Archdiocese of Amalfi

 Amalricians

 Amalricus Augerii

 St. Amandus

 Amasia

 Amastris

 Thaddeus Amat

 Amathus

 Diocese of Amazones

 Peter Ambarach

 Ambition

 Ambo

 Ambo (in the Russian and Greek Church)

 George d'Amboise

 Our Lady of Ambronay

 August Wilhelm Ambros

 St. Ambrose

 St. Ambrose of Camaldoli

 Bl. Ambrose of Sienna

 Ambrosian Basilica

 Ambrosian Chant

 Ambrosian Hymnography

 Ambrosian Library

 Ambrosian Liturgy and Rite

 Ambrosians

 Ambrosiaster

 Ambulatory

 Diocese of Amelia

 Denis Amelote

 Amen

 Amende Honorable

 Veit Amerbach

 America

 Pre-Columbian Discovery of America

 American College in Rome

 American College at Louvain

 South American College

 American Protective Association

 Francis Kerril Amherst

 Ven. John Amias

 Amice

 Antonio Amico

 Francesco Amico

 Diocese of Amida

 Diocese of Amiens

 Joseph Maria Amiot

 Amisus

 Daniel Ammen

 St. Ammon

 Ammon

 Ammonian Sections

 Ammonites

 Amorbach

 Amorios

 Amorrhites

 Eusebius Amort

 Amos

 Amovibility

 Vicariate Apostolic of Amoy

 André Marie Ampère

 Amphilochius of Iconium

 Amphilochius of Sida

 Amphoræ

 Abbey of Ampleforth

 Ampullæ

 Diocese of Ampurias

 Amra

 Amrah

 Amraphel

 Amsterdam

 Amulet

 Use and Abuse of Amulets

 Amyclae

 Jacques Amyot

 Anabaptists

 Pope St. Anacletus

 Anacletus II

 Anæsthesia

 Diocese of Anagni

 Analogy

 Analysis

 Anaphora

 Anarchy

 St. Anastasia

 Anastasiopolis

 St. Anastasius (1)

 Pope St. Anastasius I

 Pope Anastasius II

 Pope Anastasius III

 Pope Anastasius IV

 St. Anastasius (2)

 St. Anastasius Sinaita

 Anathema

 Anathoth

 St. Anatolia

 St. Anatolius (1)

 St. Anatolius (2)

 Anatomy

 Anazarbus

 Pedro de Añazco

 Joseph Anchieta

 Anchor

 Anchorites

 Ancient of Days

 Ancilla Dei

 Ciriaco d'Ancona

 Diocese of Ancona and Umana

 Ancren Riwle

 Ancyra

 Councils of Ancyra

 Andalusia

 William Henry Anderdon

 Anthony Maria Anderledy

 Henry James Anderson

 Lionel Albert Anderson

 Patrick Anderson

 James Anderton

 Ven. Robert Anderton

 Roger Anderton

 Thomas Anderton

 Heinrich Bernhard, Freiherr von Andlaw

 Ven. William Andleby

 Alonso Andrada

 Antonio de Andrada

 Diego Andrada de Payva

 Bernard André

 Yves Marie André

 Giovanni d'Andrea

 Bl. Andrea Dotti

 Andrea Pisano

 Andreas of Ratisbon

 Felix de Andreis

 Juan Andres

 St. Andrew (1)

 St. Andrew (2)

 St. Andrew Avellino

 Bl. Andrew Bobola

 St. Andrew Corsini

 Andrew of Caesarea

 St. Andrew of Crete

 Andrew of Lonjumeau

 Andrew of Rhodes

 St. Andrew the Scot

 William Eusebius Andrews

 Diocese of Andria

 Anemurium

 Felice Anerio

 Giovanni Francesco Anerio

 Filippo Anfossi

 Ange de Saint Joseph

 Ange de Sainte Rosalie

 Angel

 St. Angela Merici

 Bl. Angela of Foligno

 Francesco degli Angeli

 Girolamo degli Angeli

 Angelicals

 Fra Angelico

 Bl. Angelo Carletti di Chivasso

 Angelo Clareno da Cingoli

 Early Christian Representations of Angels

 Angels of the Churches

 Angelus

 Angelus Bell

 Angelus Silesius

 Anger

 Diocese of Angers

 University of Angers

 Notre Dame des Anges

 St. Angilbert

 Francesco Angiolini

 Priory of Anglesea

 Anglican Orders

 Anglicanism

 Timothy Warren Anglin

 Anglo-Saxon Church

 Anglona-Tursi

 Angola and Congo

 Diocese of Angora

 Diocese of Angoulême

 Diocese of Angra

 Pedro Angulo

 Vicariate Apostolic of Anhalt

 Pope St. Anicetus

 College and Church of the Anima (in Rome)

 Anima Christi

 Animals in Christian Art

 Animals in the Bible

 Animism

 Giovanni Animuccia

 Anise

 Anna

 Anna Comnena

 Ecclesiastical Annals

 Annas

 François Annat

 Annates

 St. Anne

 Sainte Anne d'Auray

 Sainte Anne de Beaupré

 Diocese of Annecy

 Joseph Annegarn

 Annibale d'Annibaldi

 Giuseppe d'Annibale

 Annius of Viterbo

 St. Anno

 Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Orders of the Annunciation

 Louis-Pierre Anquetil

 Casto Innocenzio Ansaldi

 Giordano Ansaloni

 St. Anschar

 Councils of Anse

 Ansegisus

 St. Ansegisus

 St. Anselm (1)

 St. Anselm (2)

 Anselm of Laon

 Anselm of Liège

 St. Anselm of Lucca, the Younger

 Antoine Anselme

 Reyer Anslo

 Thomas Chisholm Anstey

 Antediluvians

 Pope St. Anterus

 Joseph Anthelmi

 Anthemius

 St. Anthony

 Orders of Saint Anthony

 St. Anthony of Padua

 Anthony of Sienna

 Anthony of the Mother of God

 Anthropomorphism

 Antichrist

 Antidicomarianites

 Antidoron

 Diocese of Antigonish

 Antimensium

 Antinoe

 Antinomianism

 Church of Antioch

 Antioch

 Antiochene Liturgy

 Antiochus of Palestine

 Antipater of Bostra

 Antipatris

 Antiphellos

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Apostasy


(apo, from, and stasis, station, standing, or position).

The word itself in its etymological sense, signifies the desertion of a post, the giving up of a state of life; he who voluntarily embraces a definite state of life cannot leave it, therefore, without becoming an apostate. Most authors, however, distinguish with Benedict XIV (De Synodo di£cesanâ, XIII, xi, 9), between three kinds of apostasy: apostasy a Fide or perfidi£, when a Christian gives up his faith; apostasy ab ordine, when a cleric abandons the ecclesiastical state; apostasy a religione, or monachatus, when a religious leaves the religious life. The Gloss on title 9 of the fifth book of the Decretals of Gregory IX mentions two other kinds of apostasy: apostasy inobedientiæ, disobedience to a command given by lawful authority, and iteratio baptismatis, the repetition of baptism, "quoniam reiterantes baptismum videntur apostatare dum recedunt a priori baptismate". As all sin involves disobedience, the apostasy inobedientiæ does not constitute a specific offense. In the case of iteratio baptismatis, the offence falls rather under the head of heresy and irregularity than of apostasy; if the latter name has sometimes been given to it, it is due to the fact that the Decretals of Gregory IX combine into one title, under the rubric "De apostatis et reiterantibus baptisma" (V, title 9) the two distinct titles of the Justinian Code: "Ne sanctum baptisma iteretur" and" De apostatis " (I, titles 6, 7), in Corpus juris civilis ed. Krueger, (Berlin, 1888); II 60-61. See München "Das kanonische Gerichtsverfahren und Strafrecht" (Cologne, 1874), II, 362, 363. Apostasy, in its strictest sense, means apostasy a Fide (St. Thomas, Summa theologica, II-II, Q. xii a. 1).


APOSTASY A FIDE, or PERFIDIÆ

Perfidiæ is the complete and voluntary abandonment of the Christian religion, whether the apostate embraces another religion such as Paganism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, etc., or merely makes profession of Naturalism, Rationalism, etc. The heretic differs from the apostate in that he only denies one or more of the doctrines of revealed religion, whereas the apostate denies the religion itself, a sin which has always been looked upon as one of the most grievous. The "Shepherd" of Hermas, a work written in Rome in the middle of the second century, states positively that there is no forgiveness for those who have wilfully denied the Lord. [Similit. ix. 26, 5; Funk, Opera Patrum apostolicorum (Tübingen, 1887), I, 547]. Apostasy belonged, therefore, to the class of sins for which the Church imposed perpetual penance and excommunication without hope of pardon, leaving the forgiveness of the sin to God alone. After the Decian persecution (249, 250), however, the great numbers of Lapsi and Libellatici, and the claims of the Martyres or Confessores, who assumed the right of remitting the sin of apostasy by giving the Lapsi a letter of communion, led to a relaxation of the rigour of ecclesiastical discipline. St. Cyprian and the Council of the African Church which met at Carthage in 251 admitted the principle of the Church's right to remit the sin of apostasy, even before the hour of death. Pope Cornelius and the council which he held at Rome confirmed the decisions of the Synod of Carthage, and the discipline of forgiveness was gradually introduced into all the Churches. [Epistolæ S. Cypriani, 55 et 68; Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum (Vienna, 1871), III, ii, ed. Hartel, 624, 666; Eusebius, Church History, VI, xliii, 1, 2]. Nevertheless, the Council of Elvira, held in Spain about the year 300, still refused forgiveness to apostates. [Harduin, Acta Conciliorum (Paris, 1715), I, 250; Funk, Kirchen-geschichtliche Abhandlungen und Untersuchungen (Paderborn, 1897), I, 155-181; Batiffol, Etudes d'histoire et de théologie positive (Paris, 1902) 1st series, 111-144]. When the Roman Empire became Christian, apostates were punished by deprivation of all civil rights. They could not give evidence in a court of law, and could neither bequeath nor inherit property. To induce anyone to apostatize was an offence punishable with death [Theodosian Code, XVI, title 7, De apostatis; title 8, De Judæis; "Corpus juris romani ante-Justinianæi" (Bonn, 1840), 1521 - 1607; Code of Justinian I, title 7, De apostatis l. c. 60, 61]. In the Middle Ages, both civil and canon law classed apostates with heretics; so much so that title 9 of the fifth book of the Decretals of Gregory IX, which treats of apostasy, contains only a secondary provision concerning apostasy a Fide [iv, Friedberg, Corpus juris canonici (Leipzig, 1879-81), II, 790-792]. Boniface VIII however, by a provision which was amended in the sixth book of the Decretals [V, title 2, De h£reticis, 13 (Friedberg, II, 1075)], merely classes apostates with heretics in respect of the penalties which they incur. This decretal, which only mentions apostate Jews by name, was applied indifferently to all. The Inquisition could therefore proceed against them. The Spanish Inquisition was directed, at the end of the fifteenth century, chiefly against apostates, the Maranos, or new Christians, Jews converted by force rather than by conviction; while in 1609 it dealt severely with the Moriscos, or professedly-converted Moors of Spain.

Today the temporal penalties formerly inflicted on apostates and heretics cannot be enforced, and have fallen into abeyance. The spiritual penalties are the same as those which apply to heretics. In order, however, to incur these penalties, it is necessary, in accordance with the general principles of canon law, that the apostasy should be shown in some way. Apostates, with all who receive, protect, or befriend them, incur excommunication, reserved speciali modo to the Sovereign Pontiff (Constitution Apostolicæ Sedis, n=B0. 1). They incur, moreover, the note of "infamy", at least when their apostasy is notorious, and are "irregular"; an infamy and an irregularity which extend to the son and the grandson of an apostate father, and to the son of an apostate mother, should the parents die without being reconciled to the Church [Decree of Gratian, Distinction L, xxxii; V, tit. 2, ii, xv of the sixth book of the Decretals (Friedberg, I, 191, II, 1069 and 1075)]. Most authors, however, are of opinion that the irregularity affects only the children of parents who have joined some particular sect, or who have been personally condemned by ecclesiastical authority [Gasparri, De sacrâ ordinatione (Paris, 1893), II, 288 and 294; Lehmkuhl, Theologia moralis (Freiburg im Br., 1898), II, 725; Wernz, Jus decretalium (Rome, 1899), II, 200; Hollweck, Die kirchlichen Strafgesetze (Mainz, 1899), 162]. Apostates are debarred from ecclesiastical burial (Decretals of Gregory IX, Bk. V, title 7, viii, Friedberg, II, 779). Any writings of theirs, in which they uphold heresy and schism, or labour to undermine the foundations of faith, are on the Index, and those who read them incur the excommunication reserved, speciali modo to the Sovereign Pontiff [Constitution of Leo XIII, Officiorum et munerum, 25 January, 1897, i, v; Vermeersch, De prohibitione et censurâ librorum (Rome, 1901), 3d ed., 57, 112]. Apostasy constitutes an impediment to marriage, and the apostasy of husband or wife is a sufficient reason for separation a thoro et cohabitatione, which, according to many authorities, the ecclesiastical tribunal may make perpetual [Decretals of Gregory IX, IV, title 19, vi; (Friedberg, II, p. 722) ]. Others, however, maintain that this separation cannot be perpetual unless the innocent party embraces the religious state [Decretals of Gregory IX, ibidem, vii (Friedberg, II 722). See Gasparri, "Tractatus canonicus de matrimonio" (Paris, 1891), II, 283; De Becker, "De matrimonio" (Louvain, 1903), 2d ed., 424]. In the case of clerics, apostasy involves the loss of all dignities, offices, and benefices, and even of all clerical privileges (Decretals of Gregory IX. V, title 7, ix, xiii. See Hollweck, 163, 164).


APOSTASY AB ORDINE

This, according to the present discipline of the Church, is the abandonment of the clerical dress and state by clerics who have received major orders. Such, at least, is the definition given of it by most authorities. The ancient discipline of the Church, though it did not forbid the marriage of clerics, did not allow them to abandon the ecclesiastical state of their own will, even if they had only received minor orders. The Council of Chalcedon threatens with excommunication all deserting clerics without distinction (Hardouin, II, 603). This discipline, often infringed indeed, endured throughout a great part of the Middle Ages. Pope Leo IX decreed, at the Council of Reims (1049): "Ne quis monachus vel clericus a suo gradu apostataret", all monks and clerks are forbidden to abandon their state (Hardouin, VI, 1007). The Decretals of Gregory IX, published in 1234, preserve traces of the older discipline under the title De apostatis, which forbids all clerks, without distinction, to abandon their state [V, title 9, i, iii (Friedberg, II, 790-791) ]. Innocent III had however, at an earlier date, given permission to clerks in minor orders to quit the ecclesiastical state of their own will (Decretals of Gregory IX, III, title 3, vii; see also x, Friedberg, II, 458-460). The Council of Trent did not restore the ancient discipline of the Church, but deemed it sufficient to command the bishops to exercise great prudence in bestowing the tonsure, and only laid the obligations involved in the clerical state on clerks who have received major orders and on those who enjoy an ecclesiastical benefice (Session XXIII, De Reformatione, iv, vi). Whence it follows that all other clerks can quit their state, but, by the very fact of doing so, lose all the privileges of the clergy. Even the clerk in minor orders who enjoys an ecclesiastical benefice, should he wish to be laicized, loses his benefice by the very fact of his laicization, a loss which is to be regarded not as the penalty, but as the consequence, of his having abandoned the ecclesiastical state. These considerations suffice, it would seem, to refute the opinion maintained by some writers [Hinschius, System des Katholischen Kirchenrechts (Berlin, 1895), V, 905], who think that a clerk in minor orders can, even at the present day, be an apostate ab ordine. This opinion is rejected, among others, by Scherer, [Handbuch des Kirchenrechtes (Gratz, 1886), I, 313; Wernz, II, 338, note 24; Hollweck, 299].

Today, after three ineffectual notices, the apostate clerk loses, ipso facto, the privileges of clergy [Decretals of Gregory IX, V, title 9, i; title 39, xxiii, xxv (Friedberg, II, 790 and 897)]. By the very fact of apostasy he incurs infamy, which, however is only an infamy of fact, not one of law imposed by canonical legislation. Infamy involves irregularity, and is an offense punishable by the loss of ecclesiastical benefices. Finally, should the apostate persist in his apostasy, the bishop may excommunicate him [Constit. of Benedict XIII, Apostolicæ ecclesiæ regimine, 2 May, 1725, in Bullarum amplissima collectio (Rome, 1736), XI, ii, 400].


APOSTASY A RELIGIONE, OR MONACHATUS

Monachatus is the culpable departure of a religious from his monastery with the intention of not returning to it and of withdrawing himself from the obligations of the religious life. A monk, therefore, who leaves his monastery with the intention of returning is not an apostate, but a runaway, and so is the one who leaves it intending to enter another religious order. The monks and hermits of the early Church made no vow always continuing to live the ascetic life upon which they had entered. The rule of St. Pachomius, the father of the c£nobitical life, allowed the religious to leave his monastery [Ladenze, Histoire du cénobitisme pakhomien (Louvain, 1898), 285]. But from the fourth century onwards the religious state became perpetual, and in 385 Pope Siricius, in his letter to Himerius, expresses indignation against religious men or women who were unfaithful to their propositum sanctitatis (Hardouin, I, 848, 849). The Council of Chalcedon decreed that the religious who desired to return to the world should be excommunicated, and the Second Council of Arles called him an apostate (Hardouin, II, 602, 603, 775). Throughout the Middle Ages numerous councils and papal decretals insisted on this perpetuity of the religious life, of which Peter Damian was one of the great champions (Migne, P.L., CXLV, 674-678). Paul IV, at the time of the Council of Trent, instituted very strict legislation against apostates by his Bull Postquam., dated 20 July, 1558. These provisions were, however, recalled, two years later, by Pius IV, in the Constitution, Sedis apostolicæ, of 3 April, 1560 (Bullarum amplissima collectio [Rome, 1745], IV, i, 343, and IV, ii, 10).

As the law stands today, the canonical penalties are inflected only upon apostates in the strict sense, that is, those professed with solemn vows, with whom Jesuit scholastics are classed by privilege. Religious belonging to congregations with only simple vows, therefore, and those with simple vows in orders which also take solemn vows, do not incur these penalties. 1. Apostasy is a grave sin, the absolution of which the superior may reserve to himself [Decree "Sanctissimus" of Clement VIII, 26 May, 1593, "Bullarum ampl. Collectio" (Rome, 1756), V, v, 254]. 2. The religious is suspended from the exercise of all orders which he may have received during the period of his apostasy, nor is this penalty removed by his return to his monastery [Decretals of Gregory IX, V, title 9, vi (Friedberg, II, 792)]. 3. He is bound by all the obligations laid on him by his vows and the constitutions of his order, but if he has laid aside the religious habit, and if a judicial sentence has pronounced his deposition, he loses all the privileges of his order, in particular that of exemption from the jurisdiction of the ordinary and the right of being supported at the expense of his community (Council of Trent, Session XXV, de regularibus, xix). 4. The fact of laving aside the religious habit involves the penalty of excommunication [III tit. 24, ii, of the sixth book of Decretals (Friedberg II, 1065)]. 5. In several religious orders apostates incur the penalty of excommunication, even when they have not laid aside the religious habit, in virtue of special privileges granted to the order. 6. The apostate is bound to return to his monastery as soon as possible, and the Council of Trent enjoins bishops to punish religious who shall have left their monasteries without the permission of their superiors, as deserters (Session XXV, de regularibus, iv). Moreover, the bishop is bound to take possession of the person of the apostate monk and to send him back to his superior [Decree of the Congregation of the Council, 21 September, 1624, in "Bullarum amplissima collectio" (Rome, 1756), V, v, 248]. In the case of an apostate nun who leaves a convent enjoying pontifical cloister, she incurs the excommunication reserved simpliciter to the Sovereign Pontiff [Constitution Apostolicæ Sedis, n=B0, 6. See Vermeersch, "De religiosis institutis et personis" (Rome, 1902), I, 200; Hollweck, 299; Scherer, II, 838. See also HERESY, IRREGULARITY, CLERIC, RELIGIOUS ORDERS].

In addition to the works already referred to, the older canonists may be consulted, especially SCHMALZGRÜBER and REIFFENSTUEL, who in their commentaries follow the order of the Decretals, at Book V, title 9. As modern canonists no longer treat of apostasy under a special heading, they must be consulted where they refer to ordinations and irregularities, the duties of the clerical state, the obligations of religious offenses and penalties, and, chiefly, when they write concerning heresy. See also FERRARIS, Bibliotheca Canonica (Rome, 1889), s.v. Apostasia, BEUGNET, in Dict. de théol. cath (Paris, 1901), AMTHOR, De Apostasia Liber Singularis (Coburg, 1833), FEJÉR, Jus Ecclesiæ Catholicæ adversus Apostatas (Pesth, 1847); SCHMIDT, Der Austritt aus der Kirche (Leipzig, 1893); SCOTUS PLACENTINUS, De Obligatione Regularis extra regularem domum commorantis, de Apostatis et Fugitivis (Cologne, 1647); THOMASIUS, De Desertione Ordinis Ecclesiastici (Halle, 1707), SCHMID, Apostasia vom Ordenstande (Studien und Mittheilungen aus dem Benediktiner und dem Cistercienser Orden (1886, VII, 29-42).

A. VAN HOVE